


I know I fucked this up, I'm gonna make it right

by BubblegumLeather



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Creepy Fluff, Gen, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Post-Hellbent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 16:04:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16349732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblegumLeather/pseuds/BubblegumLeather
Summary: Takes place immediately after the end of Hellbent. Lewis succeeds in killing Arthur in the caves, only for him to rise again as a ghost and get some help from someone, or something, who they both thought was long gone from the past...





	I know I fucked this up, I'm gonna make it right

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Bad Deeds with Good Intentions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3389060) by [StarStorm21](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarStorm21/pseuds/StarStorm21). 



> A trigger warning for gore, at least at the beginning of the story then it's fine the rest of the story.
> 
> This story was also inspired by/based off of the Misguided Friend series of stories by StarStorm21! Go give those stories a read too, definitely recommend them!

Arthur opened his eyes, only to see his dead body below him. He gasped and sputtered as he tried to breathe, desperately needing air in his non-existent lungs, not even able to scream. It was a ghastly sight, the violent magenta stalagmite pierced straight through his chest and his robotic arm shattered in scattered pieces across the cave floor. It was even hard to tell the crystal was magenta anymore, as his blood had painted it a ghastly red.

What made it worse was who did this to him: Lewis. The very man he had desperately been searching across the country for was the same one who had dropped him to his demise and who had also been dead this whole time. That fact still made Arthur sick to his stomach from heartbreak, betrayal, and confusion. How could this have happened? Why did this have to happen?!

_“Oh, Arthur… I’m so sorry. I was too late!”_ Arthur startled in horror, though he remained floating in place, hearing that familiar voice echo around him as if whispered straight into his mind. Suddenly the pink mist within the cave surrounding him transformed into a sickly green and a horrifying sense of familiarity flooded the blond’s entire being. _“This is all my fault. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, especially to you.”_

“W-Who’s there?” His voice only came out as a weak wheeze. Nothing came through the fog, yet Arthur could feel faint touches all around him. Upon closer look, he realized that it was the fog itself was the source, the transparent clouds forming many, many hands that gently touched Arthur’s now ghostly form. His clothes were the same as before, except now far cleaner compared to their state back when he was still alive. And his right arm, the flesh was now pitch black tipped with sharp bone-like claws while his left arm was nowhere to be seen with only a faint electric wisp of orange energy trailing from the shoulder. A bright magenta star that looked to be made of glass beat to an unknown rhythm above the hole in his chest.

Arthur was frozen in shock at seeing what he was now and it was only when a fog hand held his remaining hand, reassuringly intertwining its fingers in his own, that he came back to focus.

“Wait… it’s you, isn’t it? The spirit from the cave!” The thing that had possessed him and lead to him losing his arm. How did it even manage to escape and how did it get here?

_“Yes, it’s me Arthur. I had been following you for quite some time now actually.”_ Its voice was a calming whisper, sounding neither like a man or a woman, but it was oddly soothing to Arthur nonetheless. He was still freaked out and still freaking out but was slowly coming back from fraying at the seams of his very being. The mist seemed to sense this and took it as a sign to continue speaking. _“I had tried to stop that… monster from doing this to you, but he was far too strong for me to be able to do anything. All I wanted to do was protect you and look what that got you.”_ It sounded so guilt-ridden that Arthur felt a pang of empathy for the spirit.

“Protect me from what?” The mist went quiet for a moment, as if afraid of him getting angry at it. Taking a risk, Arthur cautiously squeezed the misty hand that held his in an effort to offer the same comfort to the spirit.

_“From him. The same being that became the ghost that had hunted you so relentlessly.”_

“You were trying to protect me from… Lewis? Why?! He’s my friend, he’d never hurt anyone!” Disbelief was heavy in Arthur’s voice and was nothing but even more confused by the spirit and its reasonings. The mist suddenly dropped in temperature, enough that if Arthur were still flesh and blood he would have shivered.

_“Then explain why he had hurt you? “_ That left him silent, unable to come up with an answer. _“You had spent so much time, so many sleepless nights, searching for him. Pushing yourself to the brink of exhaustion over and over. Only for him to spit on it… what kind of friend is that Arthur?!”_ The spirit quieted again before the mist returned to normal, seemingly calmed down as fast as it lost its temper. _“Perhaps this is a blessing though. Now that you are a spirit much like him, we can even the playing field. You can still protect those that you love Arthur. And I can help you!”_

“How?” Arthur has seen plenty of what Lewis is capable of now as a spectral being, there was no way he could fight back that. He was missing an arm even as a ghost for goodness sake! “If anything, I’m likely even more useless like this than when I was still alive.” The spirit placed a finger over his lips to shush him, not wanting to hear that kind of talk.

_“It’s simple, Arthur. Now that you are a spirit much like me, we are now made of similar energy. This can allow me to merge myself with you and make you even stronger a ghost. Even stronger than Lewis!”_ It could sense his immediate unease at the idea of that, memories of being possessed rushing through his head. _“Do not worry, it will be different then back in the cave. You will remain in control of yourself, I promise you. I will only be an observer within your being and a second voice in your mind.”_

It sounded almost too good to be true, but the spirit had been honest with him this far. He was tired and desperate enough to try anything at this point since Vibi and Mystery were still outside of this… dimension. And they were in danger if seeing that plant monster before he was thrown into darkness told him all he needed to know.

“Alright, I accept… spirit.” It only just hit Arthur now that the mist had no name of any kind.

_“Call me Celadon, Arthur. Now just remain still and keep your mind calm, I will take care of the rest.”_ Alright, he could do that. The mist hand let go of Arthur’s hand to reach for the glass star that continued to beat without falter. Only instead of clutching the ghost’s anchor to the world, Celadon’s hand went inside of it and the rest of the mist followed suit, the star’s magenta mixing with bright green. It felt practically euphoric for Arthur that left him a daze and before he knew it, it was over. But oh, did he feel better!

Arthur could practically feel the energy at his fingertips, his entire being vibrating with newfound life that he didn’t have much even back when he was alive. His empty shoulder socket was no more, now having a left arm composed of green lightning-like energy, as if Celadon’s way of apologizing about his arm. Celadon could sense the young man’s glee from within his mind and if they had a face, they’d be grinning alongside him.

Alone neither of them were much of a match for whatever came their way, but together they practically felt unstoppable.


End file.
